Should You Cry at Work?
We shouldn’t feel embarrassed to show our emotions at work sometimes, even if that means shedding a tear
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If the past two and a half years have taught us anything about the nature of work and home life, it’s that they’re both unquestionably intertwined. The lines that used to separate work life from home life have been completely blurred and washed away as if they were drawn in the sand. Even those in the most senior-level management positions haven’t been able to resist the overlap that’s been “remote work” as we know it.
After a certain point, it all eventually became too overwhelming to even attempt to hide the stresses that we face at work (let alone at home), therefore we’ve had no choice but to air out our dirty laundry both on and off the screen.
However, this has been particularly difficult for those of us who preferred to keep their home lives separate, myself included. After all, you never know how people (especially colleagues) will react to the things that you share about your personal life. And, the bigger question is, how much should you share and how much should you show in the workplace?
I ask this question because I had personally gone through a life-changing tragedy when my Dad passed away last year. When it happened, I felt like I didn’t know how to communicate or express what I was feeling to my co-workers — or really to anyone for that matter.
Professionally, I didn’t know how much I was willing to disclose to colleagues because I was worried about making other people feel uncomfortable or awkward around me. So, I didn’t talk about it much — and I still don’t talk about it much to this day. Instead, I carried on “business as usual” as the saying goes. But, that doesn’t mean it was any less sad.
There were times when I was so sad that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold back the tears whenever the mention of my Dad came up. But, I did. And that was really hard to do. And I often wonder to this day if I should have been a little more vocal about what was really going on and what would happen if I didn’t hold back the tears from coming.
Part of me wishes I had been a little more open about the fact that I wasn’t doing as well as I led others to…
